Baseball and softball gloves, or mitts, are designed to be worn by players to aid in the catching of baseballs and/or softballs. Due to the often high velocities at which the balls may travel, many mitts are made of hard leather to provide a protective cushion between the player's hand and the incoming ball. Frequently, after purchasing a new leather mitt, however, the player will desire to condition, or break in, the mitt to make it feel and/or appear like it has been previously used. Two typical goals of conditioning a mitt are the softening of the leather and the formation of the baseball/softball pocket inside the portion of the mitt that receives the incoming ball.
One common approach to forming the pocket in a glove is to place a ball into the glove proximate a desired location for a baseball pocket, such as between the thumb and forefinger, and tie straps or bands around the exterior of the glove to ensure that it is tightly pressed around the ball. After several hours, or possibly even days, the leather proximate the ball may become loose and/or stretched, thereby forming the baseball pocket. One problem with this approach, however, is the need for straps and/or bands which, without being coupled to a ball, may easily be lost or misplaced. Therefore, there presently exists a need for a device that incorporates both a ball and straps to aid in the conditioning of a glove, namely in the formation of a baseball pocket.